In this book, author writes that many of us spend our lives submitting "to inappropriate demands, injustice, even abuse—or we engage in destructive fighting in which everyone loses." All too often, he states, people accommodate, attack, or avoid. Ury shows how we can break that cycle by stepping away from negative emotions such as fear, guilt, and anger and finding the courage to say no. One of his more important points is that saying no doesn't mean you can't reach out to the person whose request you're denying and attain a compromise that will satisfy both sides. In this way, he helps us better understand ourselves and others. This work on an all-too-common problem should assist many; highly recommended for all public and academic libraries. (text cited from Library Journal)